Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Subscribe: Spotify | TuneIn | RSS | More
Wonderful news of the birth of Jesus Christ is sent to the shepherds. But it’s not wonderful to you if it’s not personal.
Sinful condition
- Romans 1:28-32
- Not only do these things, but take pleasure in them that do them.
- Entertained by them. Celebrate them: “celebrities” are those who portray this list on screens enjoyed by other reprobates rejected by God.
Personal guilt before God
- Romans 2:1-5
- Personal hypocrisy before God
- You criticize people for being liars, and you lie.
- You criticize people for adultery, yet you watch it on TV and are entertained by it.
- You would gasp if anyone you knew was involved in a murder, but you’ve been entertained by hundreds of murders on your video games or your TV shows in the past week.
- Romans 2:5 after thy hardness and impenitent heart treasurest up unto thyself wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God.
- It is appointed unto man once to die and after this the judgment. No more chances. No purgatory. No reincarnation. No opportunities after death.
- You say you’re pretty good which everyone says about themselves. There is not a person that doesn’t think they’re good. But goodness is determined by the law and the Judge, not you or me.
- Romans 3:20 By the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin.
- When law enforcement raided a home near us and apprehended a guy for his part in a murder, what if he just said, “But I’m a good guy. I’ve never stolen anything.” Or what if he said, “But I’m a good guy, I take care of my family.”
- The charges against you aren’t about what you’ve done right. The law is only looking at what’s been done against the law. God’s law is the same way. Whatever good you believe you’ve done does not justify the laws you’ve broken. That’s not a defense here and it’s not a defense before God.
- The charges against you are called sin. Not only did the law point out your sin, it also awakened sin in you. The law showed you that your very nature was to be against God.
Reason for the season
- Luke 2:8-20
Accepting the reason for the season
- Acts 20:21 Testifying both to the Jews, and also to the Greeks, repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ.
- Settling out of court will require repentance toward God.
- That means I’m going to stop justifying myself my way, and now look to God’s way.
- You’re not going to be able to add religion to your sin and pay for your sin.
- Calling upon the name of the Lord Jesus Christ is how you get justified before God. But in order to call on Jesus Christ, you’re going to have to stop looking in other places for justification before God.
- And faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ
- What is God’s way?
- That means you understand not only are not saved by works, but you are condemned because of your works. It is your sin, the things you’ve done, the things you’ve thought, the things you’ve said, the things your heart has gone after that has separated between you and God.
- Stop justifying yourself before God and accept God’s justification in Jesus Christ –
- Romans 3:23-26 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; 24 Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: 25 Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God; 26 To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus.
- Romans 5:9 Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him.
